Hong Kong clashes, arrests kick-start plans to blockade city

HONG KONG, Sept 28 (Reuters) - Violent clashes between Hong
Kong riot police and students galvanized tens of thousands of
supporters for the city's pro-democracy movement and
kick-started a plan to lock down the heart of the Asian
financial centre early on Sunday.

Leaders and supporters of Occupy Central with Love and Peace
rallied to support students who were doused with pepper spray
early on Saturday after they broke through police barriers and
stormed the city's government headquarters.

"Whoever loves Hong Kong should come and join us. This is
for Hong Kong's future," publishing tycoon Jimmy Lai, an
outspoken critic of China's communist government who has backed
pro-democracy activists through publications that include one of
the city's biggest newspapers as well as donations, told
Reuters.

Occupy demanded that Beijing withdraw its framework for
political reform in the former British colony and resume talks.

Hong Kong returned to Chinese rule in 1997 under a formula
known as "one country, two systems." that guaranteed a high
degree of autonomy and freedoms not enjoyed in mainland China.
Universal suffrage was set as an eventual goal.

But Beijing last month rejected demands for people to freely
choose the city's next leader, prompting threats from activists
to shut down Central, Hong Kong's financial district. China
wants to limit elections to a handful of candidates loyal to
Beijing.

"It's high time that we really showed that we want to be
free and not to be slaves ... we must unite together," Cardinal
Joseph Zen, 82, formerly Catholic Bishop of Hong Kong, told
Reuters.

This demonstration, which has drawn thousands of protesters
armed with goggles, masks and raincoats in preparation for a
violent confrontation with police, is one of the most tenacious
acts of civil disobedience seen in post-colonial Hong Kong.

Roads in a square block around the city's government
headquarters, located in the Admiralty district adjacent to
Central, were filled with people and blocked with metal
barricades erected by protesters to defend against a possible
police crackdown.

Some of Hong Kong's most powerful tycoons have spoken out
against the Occupy movement, warning it could threaten the
city's business and economic stability.

The latest protests escalated after demonstrators broke
through a cordon late on Friday and scaled perimeter fences to
invade the city's main government compound in the culmination of
a week-long rally to demand free elections.

Student leaders said about 80,000 people participated in the
rally. No independent estimate was available.

TENSIONS ESCALATE

The clashes were the most heated in a series of anti-Beijing
protests that underscore the central government's challenge to
stamp its will on Hong Kong.

Some observers have likened the protests to those that
culminated in the bloody crackdown on pro-democracy students in
and around Beijing's Tiananmen Square in 1989.

Police arrested more than 60 people, including Joshua Wong,
the 17-year-old leader of student group Scholarism, who was
dragged away after he called on the protesters to charge the
government premises. He was still being detained early on
Sunday, along with fellow student leaders Alex Chow and Lester
Shum.

His parents said in a statement the decision to detain him
was an act of "political persecution".

Wong has already won one major victory against Beijing. In
2012, he forced the Hong Kong government to shelve plans to roll
out a pro-China national education scheme in the city's schools
when the then 15-year-old rallied 120,000 protesters.

Students issued rallying cries during the protests, calling
for their leaders' release. But divisions between the students
and Occupy quickly emerged as arguments broke out and some
students accused the civil disobedience movement of hijacking
their protest.

"I came here tonight to support the students, but now I feel
like I've been used ... They made that decision without asking
us," said Sharon Choi, 20.

Occupy organisers had previously indicated they planned to
blockade the financial district on Oct. 1, China's National Day
holiday. The rally will now take part in the Admiralty district
to build on the momentum of week-long student rallies and
protests in the area.

"Rather than encouraging the students to join, we are
encouraged by the students to join," said Benny Tai, one of the
three main organizers of the pro-democracy movement.